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Wallace boys basketball season ends with sub-district loss to Wauneta-Palisade

By Travis McConnellSports Writer

The Wallace Wildcat boys finished their basketball season with a second round sub-district loss to Wauneta-Palisade on Tuesday night.

First Round Action The Wildcats advanced to the second round with a thrilling, 61-58, come-from-behind victory over Hitchcock County in first round action. These two teams met on Feb. 11, in another thriller that needed overtime to decide the winner. In that one the Hitchcock County Falcons escaped with a 63-58 win. Early on it looked like the Falcons might run away with this one. The Falcons used balanced scoring and good three-point shooting to take a 22-8 lead with less than two minutes to play in the first half. The Wildcats then woke up on offense thanks to steals by Landon Swedberg and Shawn Christensen that spurred a 9-2 run by the Wildcats to close the half only down seven at 24-17. The run included three layups, one each by Sean May, Lane and Landon Swedberg, as well as a free throw by Jordan Christner and two free throws by Christensen. The momentum of the final two minutes of the first half carried over for the Wildcats into the third quarter. May hit two three pointers and a long two pointer to get the Wildcats rolling offensively. However, the Falcons’ Clive Brown also found his shooting touch, scoring 12 of his team high 19 points in the third quarter. The two teams continued to trade baskets throughout the third quarter. Lane Swedberg capped the scoring with back to back three-pointers, but the Wildcats were unable to cut into the Falcon lead as both teams managed 21 points for the quarter. At the end of three the Falcons still led 45-38. Three-pointers by Landon and Lane Swedberg and field goals by Christensen and May allowed the Wildcats to get within two at 50-48 with 4:08 to play in the game. The Wildcats then took their first lead with 2:00 minutes to play in the game when Christner hit a tough turnaround jump shot in the lane to put the Wildcats ahead 56-55. Christner then hit another big shot two possessions later that put the Wildcats ahead for good at 59-58. May then hit two free throws to seal the three point win.

Second Round Action On Tuesday night the Wildcats season came to an end following a 73-47 loss to D2 number one ranked Wauneta-Palisade Broncos. The Wildcats battled early, hitting four three pointers in the first quarter to only trail 17-12 after one quarter. Wauneta-Palisade’s Drew Harris then took over, scoring 24 of his game high 31 points in the second and third quarters. Ricky Martin also added 11 points during this time, as the Broncos extended a 46-25 halftime lead into a 66-38 lead after three quarters. The Wildcats did outscore the Broncos 9-7 in the fourth quarter, but Wauneta-Palisade advanced to the sub-district final with the 26 point win. With the loss the Wildcats finished their season at 10-10.